Allowed¶16

Bharat Naskar @ Bharat Chandra Naskar v. the State of West Bengal and Anr.

Calcutta HC10 Jul 2024CRM (A)/2291/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Calcutta High Court, CRM (A) 2291 of 2024 (Soumen Sen & Uday Kumar, JJ.), decided 11.07.2024. Anticipatory bail allowed to Bharat Naskar @ Bharat Chandra Naskar in Bishnupur Police Station Case No. 633 of 2024 / EC No. 499/24 under Sections 135(1)(a) Electricity Act (allegation of pilferage). Custodial interrogation held unnecessary given offer to deposit 50% of provisionally assessed amount; bond Rs.10,000/- with two sureties; Section 438(2) CrPC conditions; fortnightly I.O. visits; merits of WBSEDCL's claim expressly left undecided.

What did the court decide?

Prayer for anticipatory bail allowed; petitioner to be released on bail on arrest upon bond of Rs.10,000/- with two sureties, subject to Section 438(2) CrPC conditions and attendance requirements. ¶16

Bharat Naskar @ Bharat Chandra Naskar Vs the State of… — Anticipatory Bail | Calcutta HC (2024)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Prayer for anticipatory bail allowed; petitioner to be released on bail on arrest upon bond of Rs.10,000/- with two sureties, subject to Section 438(2) CrPC conditions and attendance requirements.

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Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, arraigned in Bishnupur Police Station Case No. 633 of 2024 under Sections 135(1)(a) of the Electricity Act, should be granted anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

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Court's answer

Considering the case diary materials and the petitioner's willingness to deposit 50% of the provisionally assessed amount within a fortnight and cooperate with the investigation, custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not necessary.

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Ratio / Principle

In the event of arrest, the petitioner shall be released on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs.10,000/- with two registered sureties of like amount each to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer, subject to Section 438(2) CrPC conditions; he shall meet the I.O. once a fortnight until the final report and appear before the learned Trial Court within two weeks and thereafter on every hearing date.

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Key takeaways

If the petitioner breaches any of the bail conditions, the trial court may cancel his bail in accordance with law without further reference to this Court.ratio¶14
The grant of anticipatory bail is expressly not a decision on the merits of the distribution company's claim.obiter¶15

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail under Section 438 CrPC granted in a case under Sections 135(1)(a) of the Electricity Act (Bishnupur P.S. Case No. 633 of 2024). Held: in view of the case diary and the petitioner's offer, without prejudice, to deposit 50% of the amount provisionally assessed within a fortnight and cooperate with the investigation, custodial interrogation was unnecessary. Release directed on a bond of Rs.10,000/- with two registered sureties of like amount each, subject to Section 438(2) CrPC conditions; petitioner to meet the I.O. once a fortnight till final report and appear before the Trial Court within two weeks and on every hearing date; trial court at liberty to cancel bail on breach. The Court clarified that the order is not a decision on the merits of the distribution company's claim.

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10.07.2024 Court No.29 Item No. 22

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Allowed

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sg CRM (A) 2291 of 2024

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In Re:- An application for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in connection with Bishnupur Police Station Case No. 633 of 2024 dated 13.06.2024 under Sections 135(1)(a) of the Electricity Act, corresponding to ECno.499/24.

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And

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In Re: Bharat Naskar @ Bharat Chandra Naskar Petitioner Mr. Iqbal Hussain For the Petitioner Mr. Sujoy Sarkar For the State Mr. Aniket Mitra For the WBSEDCL

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The learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner, without prejudice to his rights and contentions, shall deposit 50% of the amount provisionally assessed and shall cooperate with the investigation within a period of fortnight.

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The learned Counsel for the State has produced the case dairy and has opposed the prayer for anticipatory bail.

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The learned Counsel for the distribution company has submitted that the allegation is of pilferage.

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Considering the materials available in the case diary and having regard to the fact that the petitioner is willing to deposit 50% of the amount provisionally assessed within a period of fortnight and shall cooperate with the

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investigation, we are of the view that the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not necessary.

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Accordingly, we direct that in the event of arrest the petitioner namely, Bharat Naskar @ Bharat Chandra Naskar , shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.10,000/-, with two registered sureties of like amount each, to the satisfaction of Arresting Officer, subject to conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The petitioner shall meet the I.O. once in a fortnight till the submission of the final report. The petitioner shall appear before the learned Trial Court within two weeks from date and thereafter shall appear on each and every date of hearing.

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In the event the petitioner fails to comply with any of the conditions as mentioned above, the trial court shall be at liberty to cancel their bail in accordance with law without any further reference to this Court.

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